


The Spookiest House on the Block

by ginger_angel



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Captain America Steve Rogers, Captain America Steve Rogers/Modern Bucky Barnes, Halloween, M/M, Meet-Cute, Modern Bucky Barnes, Pre-Relationship, Trick or Treating, Uncle!Bucky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-11-09 11:06:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20852417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ginger_angel/pseuds/ginger_angel
Summary: Bucky doesn’t know how he got roped into this gig, but he’s taking his nephew trick-or-treating this year.  Bucky thinks it’ll be great.  He totally plans on skimming candy from his nephew’s treat bag for payment.  Unfortunately Josh is still a little people shy so Bucky ends up doing most of the work all night.  They’re almost done when they get to a really creepy house at the end of the block.  Since this is Becca’s neighborhood, he doesn’t know any of the people that live here and Josh really doesn’t want to go up to this particular door.  Bucky will really be glad he talked Josh into it in the end.





	The Spookiest House on the Block

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! So this is not the first thing I've written for this fandom, but it is the first thing I've posted for this fandom. Thanks to the mods of Bucky Barnes Bingo for throwing out spoopy October prompts. It got me to write this little fic which is also my first Bingo square!
> 
> Written for Bucky Barnes Bingo square: Protectiveness
> 
> Written for BBB Discord Server October prompt: "I don't think we should go in there"

“Uncle Bucky, I don’t think we should go in there.” Josh has stopped walking and is staring with wide eyes at the large house beyond the fence. Bucky thinks the kid has a point. It’s an older house and it obviously looks like it hasn’t been kept up. The front yard is overgrown and a new coat of paint would not hurt. But the porch light is on signaling that the house is “open for candy business” as it were. This isn’t Bucky’s neighborhood so he’s not sure who actually lives here but he’s just seen a few kids dressed up as My Little Ponies skip down the walkway away from the house, towards the sidewalk, and around the corner to the next block, so he’s sure this house is still giving out candy. Becca didn’t tell him there were any houses off limits, either, so it’s safe. Probably.

Bucky is a little nervous taking his nephew Josh out trick-or-treating this year. It’s his first Halloween since returning from active duty and he’s been trying to do his best to spend more time around family. Josh is six and a little people shy so Bucky feels extra protective of him. Josh’s little sister, Katy, is head-strong and loud. Even at 4 years old she would have no problem marching up to the door, ringing the bell, and loudly demanding candy. But she is home sick tonight so Becca had asked if Bucky would take Josh around the blocks close to her house.

Josh is still standing on the sidewalk outside the gate looking like he’s ready to bolt any minute. Bucky kneels down to look the kid in the eye.

“Hey buddy,” Bucky whispers. Josh hasn’t taken his eyes off of the house but Bucky can tell he’s listening by the way his hand tightens around Bucky’s. “You don’t have to go up to the door if you don’t want, but remember I’m here every step of the way. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Josh visibly swallows and nods but he doesn’t move from the spot.

“How about I carry you up to the door, huh? Do you trust me to get you there and back to this spot safe and sound?” Bucky is reasonably sure that he can carry the kid without hurting either one of them. And if Josh feels more protected when carried by his uncle then Bucky will get it done.

“But I’m six, Uncle Bucky. I’m too big for you to pick me up,” Josh protests feebly while shifting his candy bag over his arm so that he can be lifted.

“Says who?” Bucky stands up and reaches for Josh. Swinging him up into his arms takes no effort, thank God, and Josh seems to settle a little. Bucky adjusts Josh’s mask so that the elastic isn’t choking him and bounces him just a little. “I say that I can carry you until you weigh more than me and then you will have to start carrying me around. Sound good?”

At least this makes Josh laugh. He seems more relaxed now that Bucky is carrying him so Bucky tries again. “So you think we should see what kind of candy we can get from this house? It looks pretty big so they may have something good.” Josh lays his head on Bucky’s shoulder but nods. Bucky gives him a big smile and starts walking towards the door.

They climb the three steps to the porch and Josh reaches out without prompting to ring the doorbell. Instead of the proper “ding” though, they hear a wolf howl. Josh quickly buries his face in Bucky’s shoulder. Bucky tries not to laugh out loud and holds Josh just a little closer.

“It’s okay, buddy. It’s just a recording, it’s not a real wolf.” They hear the door open but Josh is still afraid to look. Bucky smiles politely as the door opens and someone steps out but his smile turns into a gape as he gets a better look. Bucky does a double take at the face of the man standing in the doorway of this beat up, rundown house in the middle of Brooklyn. Is that….is that Captain America? He tries not to stare but feels as if he is failing miserably. As the seconds tick by and neither of the adults say a word and instead continue to stare at each other, the silence is broken by a small voice.

“Trick or treat?” Josh’s raspy question fills the empty space. Bucky visibly startles but thankfully does not drop the kid. He does, however, feel his face heat in embarrassment but manages to smile despite feeling like he should be running away from the gorgeous man standing before him. 

“Hey bud,” Captain America says softly. Bucky knows he has a name but can’t for the life of him remember what it is at the moment. He’s lucky he remembers his own name at this point. “You wanna pick your own candy from what I got?” 

Josh leans forward to see what is being offered and grabs a lollypop from the bowl. He shoves it into his candy bag and retreats back to the relative safety of Bucky’s shoulder. Bucky can tell that Josh is fighting hard not to shove his thumb in his mouth. Bucky is silently proud of the kid for resisting. He knows Becca has worked hard with Josh to break him of the habit.

“How about you, dad? Do you want a piece of candy?” Captain America is smiling at him and holding out the bowl in his direction.

“Not dad,” he almost shouts. Clearing his throat, he tries again. “Uh, ummmm. I mean. Josh is my nephew.” Bucky isn't feeling any more successful with that statement than he did the first time. He shifts Josh to the other side and reaches out a hand. “Bucky Barnes. My sister, Becca, lives a couple blocks over. I’m just helping out with this one since my niece is sick tonight.”

Captain America reaches out and firmly grabs his hand. “Steve Rogers. But I bet you knew that already.” STEVE! Yeah, Bucky knows that is his name. Seeing him in this house, though, had thrown him for a loop not to mention the fact that Steve is in street clothes and looking soft and huggable. Comfortable! Not huggable. Damn it. Bucky is used to seeing him on the TV in his uniform looking like an avenging angel. Bucky’s brain is definitely stuck on how dissimilar he looks from the persona of Captain America right now. It might be a little surreal, but Bucky is definitely ready to embrace it. And him. Especially in that soft looking tee shirt.

_Christ, Barnes, get it together._ Bucky takes a deep breath but continues smiling at Steve who has let go of his hand and is standing in the doorway hugging his candy bowl.

“So, uh….,” Bucky begins, “We’re gonna go. This was the last stop on our route.” He takes a few shuffling steps towards the stairs heading back to the sidewalk. Josh remains silent, continuing to stare at Steve. Bucky isn’t sure if the kid recognizes him or not, but better to go ahead and split before Bucky does something dumb like ask Steve out for coffee or something. 

“Hey, if you want,” Steve says suddenly. He reaches up to grab the back of his neck as he looks everywhere but at Bucky. “If you want, we could meet for coffee tomorrow morning?” Steve is now looking at Bucky through his long eyelashes and it is doing something to Bucky’s insides that he immediately likes. Is Captain America asking him on a date? Bucky smiles as his heart starts doing backflips in his chest. He clears his throat before answering.

“Yeah,” he replies. “Yeah, I think I’d like that a lot, Steve. There’s that place on the way to the park, Whole Latte Love, you know it?” Steve nods quickly. “7 o’clock sharp. Don’t be late.” Bucky turns and hops down the steps, careful not to jostle Josh. He’s grinning from ear to ear and probably will be for some time now. Who knew that taking his nephew trick-or-treating would wind up ending with a coffee date for tomorrow? 

“How about that, kid. You helped your Uncle Bucky score a date. What do you think about that?” He kisses Josh on the head as they walk back out to the street. He turns to see Steve still standing at the doorway. Bucky waves and turns towards Becca’s with a spring in his step.

“I guess that place wasn’t so bad, Uncle Bucky.” Now that they are away from the house, Josh wiggles with energy so Bucky sets him back down. Josh starts pulling him towards home and Bucky just laughs.

“Got your second wind, huh? Well, let’s go home so you can make your sister jealous of all the candy you got. I’ll make your mom jealous that I scored a date with the hottest guy in Brooklyn.” 


End file.
